NGOs bill aims to shed light on spending

Those pesky nongovernmental organizations that receive state funding, and what to do with those that have questionable spending,
are back in front of state lawmakers again.

The House Appropriations Committee has already approved by a 17-0 vote a bill by state Rep. Simone Champagne, R-Erath, that
would require all NGOs to conduct business in public meetings, make public their spending and financial records and agree
to having all of their expenditures audited.

State Treasurer John Kennedy, who has spearheaded a campaign to bring more accountability to NGOs receiving state money, said
Champagne’s bill is “just the first step.”

“If we are serious about reforming
the NGO process, we need to do more,” said Kennedy. “No more burying NGO
funding in the
bowels of a 1,000-page budget; no more paying NGOs through
intermediaries; and no more backdoor funding through hidden consulting
contracts.”

Last year, Kennedy’s office found
nearly three dozen NGOs had failed an executive order by Gov. Bobby
Jindal to bring more
accountability and transparency in the spending of taxpayer money.
Thirteen organizations eventually provided sufficient paperwork
to satisfy the requirements of the executive order. However, 21
organizations, which received nearly $2.5 million from the
state, failed to meet the requirements and were turned over to the
newly created Office of Debt Recovery and the Attorney
General’s Office for immediate legal and collection action.

“Even if an organization has
technically come into ‘compliance,’ this does not constitute an
endorsement from Treasury of
their spending practices,” said Kennedy. “In fact, I continue to
have very serious questions and concerns about the accounting
methods of these NGOs, and whether they represent a priority
expenditure for the state. Taxpayers deserve a full and thorough
review to find out where their money went.”

He also said that the 34 NGOs were referred to the state Department of Revenue to determine if they were properly maintaining
their nonprofit status, and if not, whether they owed state or federal taxes.

According to Kennedy, the state through the years has provided at least $500 million in funding to NGOs.

“The real issue with NGOs is not
whether they are worthy — some are, some aren’t — but whether they are
as or more worthy
than the state’s other competing needs, such as colleges, schools,
roads, ports, health care, wetlands and small business,”
said Kennedy. “If a public official decides to fund the Purple
Circle Social Club before funding LSU, people deserve to know
why.”

H.B. 225 will bring some desperately needed sunlight to the process of where the money goes and how it is spent. There’s no
reason why it shouldn’t sail through both chambers of the Legislature and garner Jindal’s signature to make it law.